How To Access Your Router If You Forgot The Password

How do wireless routers protect their web interfaces?

It is a common practice for wireless routers to guard web interfaces with a username as well as a password (web interfaces are the places where the parental control, the networking, as well as the port forwarding settings can be configured). However, these so called default passwords have the capacity of being altered in the aim of protecting the settings of the router.

If it so happens that you got a used router and don’t know the password or you have forgotten the passport you had assigned to the router previously, there is a way of resetting the password. Not only that, but you can also forward ports with no knowledge of the password.

What should you do first?

Prior to resetting the router to the default settings, it would be wise to first make an attempt to use the default username as well as password in the aim of logging in. You will require these in any case if you are planning to reset the router to the factory default settings.

So what are the various ways of finding the username as well as the password?

Read the router manual. Of course, various router models – and even those from the same producer – frequently have a variety of diverse username and password number sequences. The manual needs to be consulted in order to locate the router’s default username/password (in the case that you can’t find the manual, go to Google and search for the model number of the router or for the model of the router and the default password).

Usually, the router has a sticker on it. Some internet service providers sell routers that have exclusive passwords, and they are at times printed on a sticky label on the router.

Take a crack at a familiar username and password number and letter sequence. A number of wireless routers employ the common password of “admin” (without the quotes) as well as a blank username, or a blank password and for the username – “admin,” or alternatively, “admin” for the password as well as username.

In the case that the router was set already or that perhaps the password had never been changed, you can always attempt to log in by using the default authorizations when you find them. If, on the other hand, this does not work, you should continue on to the next part (don’t forget that you will require the default authorizations after the router is reset).

The next step is resetting the router to its factory default settings.

Routers have a button which can be pressed in the aim of resetting the router to the so called default factory or original settings. With this action, any changes to the configuration changes to the router can be carried out – such as network setting, forwarded ports, as well as parental controls, which means that all custom will be erased. Of course, you can access the wireless router by using the default username/password, although it is likely that you will have to expend time in reconfiguring the router (the amount of time depends on the number of changes that were made to the configuration of the router).

The location of the button for resetting as well as the overall process will differ depending on the type of router. The best advice is always to consult the manual for the router for specific instructions for your given model. But it can be said that the on the whole, the procedure is more or less quite similar for the majority of routers.

The next step is to refer to the router’s bottom or the back. What we are looking for is a specific push button with the label Reset on it. The location of this button is most often than not found in a small opening known under the name of “pinhole,” which is not easy to press by accident.

This button needs to be pressed and held down for approximately ten seconds in order to reset the router. The consequence of releasing the button is the resetting of the router to the factory default settings, as well as its rebooting. However, if the button is found in a pinhole, what you will need to make use of is a twisted paperclip (or a long and thin object for pressing and holding).

If the button has been pressed down for a sufficiently long time, the router can be logged into by using the default username/password.

Is it possible to forward ports with no password?

If you wish to merely release the web interface of the router and thus to forward ports for some type of networked programs (or for a game or a server), it is not absolutely necessary to know what the password is. This is special trick, and it can always be used whenever you have no access to a password but need to use a network.

It works due to the fact that a number of router devices support UPnP (short for Universal Plug and Play), a system which lets PC programs “require” the opening of ports on routers. Therefore, if the UPnP system is allowed to work on the routers, this system will by design (or in other words, automatically) open the ports.

In conclusion, if this option is supported by a certain program, it will usually be found in the connection settings next to the port configuration. A similar method of an automatic forwarding of ports is NAT-PMP, but the problem is that not many router devices support this system. On the other hand, it your device does not support the UPnP system, you can always make use of a program such as UPnP PortMapper which can serve to forward ports rapidly from the desktop.

And last but certainly not least, this needs to be said: when you have reset the settings on the router, it is possible to log in by using the default username/password but also to alter the password from the web interface.

12 thoughts on “How To Access Your Router If You Forgot The Password”

Hello, my Dell laptop won’t connect to my wireless network while the other devices i use connect without problems. When I connect the laptop to the router with a cable it works perfectly. What else can I try?

I have just purchased a new Linksys router and I want to connect my iPad to my Wi-Fi. The problem is I have forgotten the password from my old router. How can I connect my iPad to the wireless network?

You don’t need the old router password. However, you have to login to the new router and in the settings find the wireless password. You will need an Ethernet cable for this. You can also check the package of the new router and see if there is a SSID and password printed on it for first-time users.

I have a d-link router – DWR-113 model. I accessed to the control panel and wanted to change wireless settings. I typed http://192.168.0.1/ , for username put admin, for password leaved blank. It should be properly, but it was unsuccessful. Why?

1. Try to find the router manual online and see whether the default username and password match the ones you have previously tried.
2. Please note that usernames and passwords are case sensitive so take extra care when you type them.
3. Head to routerpasswords.com and see if there is a username/password combination which you haven’t tried.
4. Try a username/password combination you most often use. Everything is possible.
5. Although you don’t want to do it resetting the router to factory settings could be the only thing that can actually help you.